The Surprise Party Analysis
by NerdForestGirl
Summary: Sheldon's birthday is coming up and Amy wants to throw him a party. She goes to Sheldon's best friend and roommate for help. Leonard and Amy plan and throw Sheldon a party and learn a little bit more about each other in the process. I really love Leonard and Amy as friends, so I wrote this story.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I am such a big fan of Leonard and Amy being friends. I wish that they were paired together in more episodes, so I wrote this short, multi-chapter fic. I hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading.**

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Leonard had mixed feelings about the weekend ahead. On one hand, Sheldon was visiting his family in Texas, so he would have the apartment to himself. On the other, Penny was shooting a commercial over the weekend, so he would be without his girlfriend. At least it might mean getting some work done in peace and quiet.

There was a knock at the door. Leonard opened the door and there stood Amy. "Oh. Hey, Amy. Sheldon went to visit his family this weekend. He isn't here," Leonard told her. He was surprised that she didn't already know that.

"I know. I came to speak to you," she said simply.

"Oh. Okay. Come on in. Would you like something to drink?"

"No, thank you."

Leonard got himself a bottle of water. "So, what brings you around when Sheldon isn't here?" He took a swig of his water and waited for Amy to answer.

"I'm glad that Sheldon isn't here. It's quite simple, Leonard. I need you," Amy said.

Leonard choked on his water. He coughed and sputtered for over a minute while Amy waited patiently for him to start breathing again. He pulled out his asthma inhaler and was finally able to breathe again.

"Oh, well. I have a girlfriend," Leonard told her.

"Yes, and I believe that we will have to pull her into this eventually. Unfortunately, she is busy this weekend. To be honest, I would rather have just gone to her. In the mean time, I'll have to settle on you," Amy said matter of factly.

"Settle?" Leonard said, a little offended even though he wasn't interested in what she was offering. He knew that Amy was starved for affection, but there was no way he could do it.

"Well, not settle exactly. I think Penny could do it better than you, but I'm sure you'll be able to satisfy my needs. At least better than Howard or Rajesh," Amy told him.

"I would like to think so, but I still don't think I can do what you are asking."

"Why not? You know Sheldon better than anyone. I suppose I could call his mother. She might have some suggestions for me," Amy said.

Leonard was confused. Why would she call Sheldon's mother? "Can we start over at the beginning? What exactly is it that you want me to do?"

"It is Sheldon's birthday next week. Now, I know that he doesn't like surprises or gift giving, but I really want to throw him a surprise party."

"Oh. Oh. Okay. That makes a lot more sense. I can help you with that."

"What did you think I wanted?" Amy asked. Leonard had changed his mind awfully fast, so he must have thought he wanted something completely different.

"Nothing. I was just confused. We're good," Leonard said. "Do you have any ideas for this party?"

"I was thinking small. Just you, me, Penny, Howard, Bernadette, Rajesh, and maybe Stuart. Sheldon wouldn't do well with many more people than that. I was also thinking of a Star Trek theme. After that, I'm sort of drawing a blank. That's why I came to you."

"It sounds like you've put a lot of thought into this already. Why don't we go shopping tomorrow? He probably wouldn't enjoy much beyond cake, video games, and Chinese food. It would probably be like any other Friday night."

"I agree. Thank you for your time, Leonard. I'll meet you back here at noon tomorrow."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll see you tomorrow, Amy," Leonard said as he walked her back to the door. He leaned against the door after she left feeling relieved that it was just a misunderstanding. He liked Amy enough as a friend, but he couldn't see her as more than that.

Amy arrived back at the apartment exactly at noon on Saturday. Leonard was ready to go with a list of the items he thought they would need. It included some decorations, food, and drinks. He also thought he would run his gift ideas by Amy too. She was right, Sheldon didn't like gifts, but what was a birthday without a few gifts? At least, that's what he could gather from the few birthday celebrations he had had since Penny had come into his life.

Other than his mother, these were the two people who knew Dr. Sheldon Cooper better than anyone. They knew him in different ways, so they thought that they would be able to combine their knowledge to give Sheldon a good birthday. They hoped they could pull off a party that was both a surprise and would make him happy.

They stopped at the party store first. Luckily, a new Star Trek movie had just come out, so they found a few decorations that fit in their theme. They avoided the party hats because they seemed childish, but they found some plates and cups that Sheldon might like.

Amy saw some small figures of various characters on one of the higher shelves. She knew that Sheldon would love to have those figures. He liked all kind of toys, but these seemed especially appropriate. She reached up to grab them, but they were up to high for her short stature. She looked to Leonard, but he was only about a half an inch taller than she was. Still she pointed them out to him. Leonard tried to grab them from the shelf, but he couldn't reach them either.

"We could use Sheldon right now," Amy commented.

"We're a couple of brilliant scientists. We can figure this out," Leonard said.

They looked around and Amy found a stick meant to beat a pinata into handing over its candy. They decided that she would knock the figures off of the shelf and Leonard would try to catch them. She started pushing the box off the shelf and gave it a little too much force. The box crashed in Leonard's head and then bounced into his hands.

"Oh my. Are you okay?" Amy asked as she dropped the stick and rushed over.

"I think I'm fine. Is it bleeding?" Leonard asked as he removed his hand from his forehead. There was a scratch there, but it wasn't bleeding. His head was just really red.

"No, but maybe we should get some ice on that," Amy told him as she carefully touched his wound. She expected him to pull back because that was what Sheldon would have done. Instead he patiently let her examine his head.

In addition to the figures that they worked so hard for, they ended up leaving with some streamers and life-sized cardboard standee of Chris Pine as Captain Kirk. They didn't have any Spock ones, so they settled for Kirk. Amy didn't see the difference and thought that Chris Pine was quite handsome. Leonard was worried that Sheldon would throw a fit.

Amy took Leonard to a fast food restaurant to get him some ice. He ordered a soda and held it to his forehead while she drove. He felt much better. He forgot how thoughtful Amy could be. She had changed in the years since they had first met. She was now much less robotic than Sheldon.

Amy and Leonard also went to a bakery to order a cake for Sheldon. It was chocolate with vanilla frosting and a big Star Trek logo on the top. Amy and Leonard also spent the time talking. They rarely spent time alone without Sheldon or Penny, so it seemed a little awkward in the beginning, but after a while they learned they had more in common than just Sheldon and Penny. Both of their mothers were controlling and stopped them from pursuing musical careers. Amy's longtime dream of being a professional harpist was not deemed an appropriate career by her mother, and Leonard's mother forbade him from becoming a rapper.

It was a productive day, and the pair was relatively sure that they were ready to throw a Sheldon appropriate party. Leonard volunteered to call everyone to let them know about the party the next day before Sheldon came home.

Leonard called everyone and they all agreed to come to the party. Both Howard and Stuart asked if throwing Sheldon a surprise party was the best idea, but they agreed when they heard it was Amy's idea. They knew that Sheldon would probably put up with it more when he heard it was his girlfriend's idea instead of any of theirs.

He called Penny last and filled her in on his weekend and to tell her about the party.

"You spent your weekend with Amy? That must have been interesting," Penny said when he finished telling her about it.

"It was, but I realized that she's not so bad. She's a lot better when she isn't around Sheldon. It's like when we went to that wedding."

"Amy is an acquired taste, but she is actually pretty great. Though, you better not let Sheldon hear you bring up that wedding. Didn't he hit you? And that was before they were actually going out."

Leonard laughed. "Anyway, do you think you could help me set up? Amy said she was going to pick Sheldon up from work on Friday and take him to the train store. Everyone else is going to be here by seven."

"Yeah. I can help you set up. I just hope this goes better than when I tried to throw you a surprise party. Also, I'm not taking any responsibility if this goes horribly wrong. I'm just a guest, okay?"

"We'll blame it all on Amy. It was her idea," Leonard suggested.

"Okay. Sounds like a plan," Penny said with a laugh.


	2. Chapter 2

Sheldon came home from Texas a few hours later. Leonard was there to pick him up from the airport. Sheldon had had as good a trip as could be expected, but he was happy to be home again. He didn't suspect anything about his birthday or a party. The group usually ignored Sheldon's birthday, and he didn't expect it to be any different this year. Well, ignored is a little strong. Leonard usually wished him a happy birthday and Raj always got him a gift even though he didn't want one. Also, Sheldon's mother sent a care package every year. Still, Sheldon didn't like the reminder that he was another year closer to death unless the singularity came first. He didn't like gifts either because it was much easier for him to just buy himself the things he wanted.

Amy called him while he was in Texas and offered to take him to the train store for his birthday. It sounded like a nice opportunity to spend some time with his girlfriend. It was honestly the only plan he looked forward to for the day. Sheldon was surprised by how much he missed Amy while he was gone. Plus, his grandmother asked when she was going to finally get to meet his girl. He promised to bring her down next time he came to visit.

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Leonard and Amy were secretly still planning Sheldon's party. That meant that they were texting each other several times a day to figure out who was going to do what. They also got to know each other a little better. They were even planning to hang out and play music together after the party planning was finished.

Amy liked talking to Leonard because while he wasn't as smart as Sheldon, he did understand her research and actually seemed to care. Or at least he pretended he did. Amy didn't think that Leonard was as funny or handsome as Sheldon, but he was a good friend. She could see why Penny loved him so much. He certainly wasn't as tedious as she believed upon first meeting him.

Leonard, Penny, and Sheldon were eating together in 4A when Leonard's phone started buzzing. He checked it and saw a text message from Amy.

"Hey. I heard from Rajesh. He wants to know if I think Sheldon would rather have an Enterprise pizza cutter or an Enterprise spatula. What do you think?"

"Pizza cutter. I can't remember the last time Sheldon used a spatula."

"Thanks, Leonard. You know his everyday stuff so much better than I do."

"Not a problem. I'm sure I'll find a use for knowing too much about him one day," Leonard wrote to Amy with a little chuckle.

"Who are you texting with during dinner?" Sheldon asked. Everyone that Leonard normally texted was in the room other than Howard and Raj, but they were both busy.

"Amy," Leonard said without thinking. As far as Sheldon knew, he and Amy didn't speak much unless they were forced together.

"Amy? My Amy? Why was she texting you?"

"Oh. I had a question about the neurobiological applications of one of my experiments. It doesn't look like it's going to work out, but she was the only neurobiologist that I know. Well, my mother is a neuroscientist, but she wouldn't have taken my calls anyway."

"But she texted you first," Sheldon said.

"She was responding to my text from earlier in the day. I'm sure that you are aware that your girlfriend is a very busy woman."

"Yes. Of course she is," Sheldon said. Leonard was relieved that Sheldon seemed to be buying his lie. Leonard didn't lie to Sheldon often, so he probably wouldn't have been suspicious, but Penny gave him a knowing look.

Even though the party was largely planned, Amy felt anxious about it. She hoped she was doing the right thing by bringing attention to Sheldon's birthday. She spent a lot of time trying not to think about it. That meant that she spent more time talking to Leonard and less time talking to Sheldon. Amy certainly didn't want to spill the beans about the party, but there wasn't much left to discuss about it with Leonard.

Eventually, they started talking about work more and more. Their fields didn't interact much, but they found each other's work interesting. Leonard even sent the paper he was working on to Amy to read for him. In turn, she sent Leonard the article she just had printed in one of her favorite journals.

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On Tuesday, everyone met at the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. Bernadette, Howard, and Raj weren't there yet. Sheldon, Amy and Leonard sat down anyway. Leonard ended up sitting across from Amy and they started talking about each other's work. Sheldon got up to use the restroom, so he wasn't there when Penny arrived at the table to take their orders. Instead, she found Amy and Leonard laughing at the hazards of using lab animals and discussing which was their favorite brain chemical. Penny didn't follow a lot of it.

Sheldon reappeared and Penny got everyone's order. She walked away from the table pondering the interaction she just witnessed. Maybe that was what Leonard should look like with a woman. Penny never felt smart enough for Leonard, and now she had just witnessed his interaction with a woman who could keep up with him. At least Penny felt reassured that her friend and her boyfriend wouldn't be attracted to each other. Or would they? Then Penny shook those thoughts from her head. There was no way.

The thoughts wouldn't leave Penny as easily as she hoped. When she got home from work, Penny thought about going into her apartment, but she stopped across the hall first. Leonard was surprised to see her, but he still gave her a kiss as soon as he opened the door.

"Hey, beautiful," Leonard said.

"Hey. Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Yeah. Is something wrong?" Leonard asked as he stepped out into the hall.

"No. Yes. No. Well, it's about you and Amy."

"Amy?"

"Are you attracted to Amy? You guys have so much more in common that we do. She's smart enough for you. I'm not."

Leonard tried to hold in a laugh because he knew that Penny often worried that she wasn't smart enough for him. "I've found out that Amy is interesting and a good friend, but I love you. I love you, Amy loves Sheldon, and I don't think I could ever see Amy that way."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I had a lot of fun exploring these relationships in a way that I hadn't before. I especially enjoyed having Leonard and Amy be friends and seeing how others would react to that. I really hope that they mix up the friendships on the show a little bit this season (I'm already hearing interesting things). This is the last chapter of this short fic. I hope you enjoyed it and I'll see you guys for another story soon. **

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Sheldon's birthday arrived and Leonard made him pancakes. He also wished him a happy birthday, but other than that the day was ignored. They were planning on going into work like normal. Leonard's phone started chiming to let him know that he had received a text message. Since he was still working on making breakfast, Leonard asked Sheldon to bring him his phone.

Sheldon looked at it and saw that the message was from Amy. "You're still texting with Amy?"

"Sheldon, don't look at my phone. Those messages are for me," Leonard said defensively.

Sheldon looked down at the phone, but it was locked so he couldn't see what the messages said. He handed the phone over. "Why are you texting Amy still? You told me that she couldn't help you with your work."

"Well, we have been... talking... about other stuff. Like, work and stuff," Leonard said. His lies weren't as smooth as before because he hadn't been practicing this lie. They had gotten all the way to Sheldon's birthday without him asking any more questions.

Sheldon glared at Leonard. Leonard opened the text message from Amy and it said, "Don't forget to wish Sheldon a happy birthday." Leonard laughed because it would have been impossible for him to forget at this point. He showed his phone to Sheldon. "Does this look like someone who is cheating on her boyfriend?"

"I didn't say she was cheating on me," Sheldon said, but he looked extremely relieved. Leonard was surprised to be having almost the same conversation with Sheldon as he had had with Penny.

"She doesn't like me that way. I don't like her that way. We are friends, and that is all," Leonard added as he put the last pancake on his plate.

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Neither of them mentioned Amy again until they parted ways at work. Leonard reminded Sheldon that she was coming to pick him up, so he needed to make sure he got out of work on time.

Sheldon did as he was told and left work promptly at five. Amy was waiting for him in the parking lot. He got in her car and they drove to the train store. Amy normally would have encouraged Sheldon to hurry up because she found the train store tedious, but this time she asked several interested questions about the little facts that Sheldon threw out. Still, Sheldon was ready to go home by six. He didn't want to be late for his dinner.

Amy panicked because she told Leonard and Penny that they would have until seven to get the apartment ready. She texted them while she tried to come up with something else for them to do.

"Sheldon, do you want to get some ice cream? It is your birthday after all," Amy suggested.

"My birthday is not an opportunity for anarchy. Ice cream before dinner is out of order," Sheldon reminded Amy.

"We could go buy some, take it back to your apartment, and eat it after dinner," Amy suggested. She knew that Leonard had ice cream at the apartment, but she didn't expect Sheldon to be ready to go home so early. Amy was running through every idea she could come up with to stall, but none of them seemed adequate.

"I don't like ice cream on Fridays, Amy," Sheldon said. He was wondering why she was acting so strange. She usually knew his schedule almost as well as he did.

"Okay. I just need to stop by my apartment on the way back to yours, so I can pick up your birthday present," Amy said. Sheldon's gift was in her trunk, but she had to find a way to keep him from going home.

"I'd really rather you didn't get me anything. Now, I'll have a harder time finding the right gift to get you for your birthday. I could have just gotten you a card and some candy or some such nonsense. Now, I'll have to find you something special. You know how hard that is for me," Sheldon said.

"You'll like it, and a card from you sounds lovely. It will just take a moment," Amy said as she pulled up outside of her building. She left Sheldon sitting in her car while she ran upstairs. She walked around her apartment trying to figure out how to kill the next forty-five minutes. She hadn't forgotten Sheldon's gift, but she realized that she had forgotten the necklace that she had purchased for this occasion. It was the Starfleet logo. It wasn't expensive, but she thought that Sheldon might like it on her. Amy grabbed up the necklace and put it on.

Her phone also buzzed. It was a text from Leonard letting her know that the apartment was ready and that everyone was there early. They could come over as soon as she was ready. Amy breathed a sigh of relief and went back downstairs.

When she got back in her car, Sheldon asked, "Is my gift that necklace you are wearing?"

Amy's hand shot up to the necklace she was wearing. Of course he would notice that she had put it on. "No. Of course not. I realized that your gift was in the trunk of my car all along. I just found this upstairs and I wanted to show it to you. I bought it last week."

She froze as Sheldon reached for the necklace. He gingerly took the pendent between his forefinger and his thumb. He examined it briefly before letting it go. Amy didn't think she breathed at all until he let go.

She started up the car and drove Sheldon home. After she retrieved the package from the car, they walked up the stairs together while Amy texted Leonard to let him know they were there. Amy was suddenly nervous about the idea. She knew that Sheldon didn't like surprises, but she was planning one for him anyway. She thought about running away, but it was too late. Sheldon opened the door to his apartment and was startled by a group of his friends shouting, "Surprise!"

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Sheldon looked annoyed as he turned back to Amy. "You knew about this?" Sheldon asked. Her peculiar behavior suddenly made sense.

"I planned it. It was my idea," Amy said quietly.

Leonard wasn't sure if Sheldon was going to freak out on Amy, but he suddenly couldn't let her face Sheldon's anger alone. "I planned it too. That's the real reason that we've been texting so much lately."

Sheldon looked around the apartment as his gathered friends. He wasn't happy about the surprise or the party, but somehow knowing that his friends cared enough to plan a party for him made it a little easier to bear.

"Come in, Sheldon. We are going to play Super Mario Bros. after we eat our Chinese food," Penny said. Sheldon looked back at Amy one more time before heading to his spot.

Amy wasn't sure if Sheldon was mad at her, so she just went over to the kitchen. Penny gave Sheldon his food and Penny teased him about how much better she was at video games than he was. Leonard thought that the situation would be well handled by Penny, so he went to check on Amy.

"Is everything okay? He seems to be handling it much better than I thought he would," Leonard asked Amy.

"It was a stupid idea. He's handling it okay, but he isn't going to have fun. His birth should be a celebration, but that doesn't mean he wants one," Amy said.

Leonard and Amy looked over at Sheldon and he was waving Amy over. "You are a lot harder on yourself than you should be. It looks like nothing would improve this party for him than to have your company. You should go over there to him," Leonard told her.

"Thanks, Leonard. You are a good friend," Amy told him.

"No problem. You aren't such a bad friend yourself," Leonard said with a wink. They walked over together and sat next to their partners.

Sheldon actually had a good time. He opened presents from his friends and didn't complain once about someone's choice. Well, he complained mildly about Howard's choice of Star Trek cookie cutters because he never baked. Then he suggested that he could take it up and thanked Howard anyway.

When he opened Amy's gift of Mr. Spock pajamas with a matching robe, Sheldon gave her a genuine smile. She wasn't sure he would like it because it wasn't exactly his normal style, but she was glad that he seemed pleased. "Thank you, Amy," Sheldon said looking her straight into her eyes. He was trying say all of the things that he couldn't in those three words. He wanted to thank her for being so thoughtful and for being there for him.

Sheldon blew out all the candles on his cake and enjoyed a night of spending time with his friends. It was a good night, for a birthday.

It was nearly midnight when Amy finally got up to leave. She wished Sheldon a happy birthday and hugged Penny and Leonard. Sheldon watched as his girlfriend hugged his friend. He could see it was just a friendly hug, but it still stirred something inside of him. He gently hugged Amy. Then he whispered, "I had a good time. Don't ever throw me a surprise party ever again, but I had a good time."

Amy laughed and thanked Leonard and Penny again before going down to her car. Sheldon had a good birthday, she found out that Leonard was a good friend, and she even got a hug from Sheldon. It had been worth the risk of throwing him that party.


End file.
